422 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



by the constituent assembly, he was successively called 

 to the legislative body and to the convention: but sub- 

 sequently denounced as a partizan of the Girondists, 

 he was outlawed in 1793, and shortly after was taken 

 prisoner, when he poisoned himself, in 1794. 



Confucius (kon-fu'-se-us), the I>atinized name of 

 Koung-Fou-Tseu, a celebrated Chinese philosopher, 

 supposed to have been born in the year 551 B. C. 1 nun 

 his youth he devoted his hours to the study of philosophy. 

 A mandarin when but 17 years of age, he resigned his 

 office on the death of his mother, according to custom, 

 and withdrew to solitude, giving himself up to profound 

 meditation. He afterwards established a school, and 

 had many disciples. The King of Lou invited him to 

 his court and appointed him his first minister. He 

 endeavored to correct the manners of his countrymen 

 by his sage maxims. He effected important reforms, 

 but the intrigues of his enemies prevailed against him, 

 and he was sent into exile. He wrote several very im- 

 portant works, ami died in 479 B. C. 



Conrad III., founder of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty; 

 elected Emperor of Germany in 1138; had Henry the 

 Proud, as head of the German Guelfs, for rival ; crushed 

 him at Weinsberg; joined Louis VII. of France on a 

 third crusade, and returning, overthrew the Guelfs again, 

 lea\ing Barbaro-sa as his heir; died in 1152. 



Coiistantine I. (kdn'sttin-tin), called The Great; born 

 at Md-sia. was son of Constant ius Chlorus -by 

 Helena. On the death of his father at York, where he 

 accompanied him, was proclaimed emperor by the 

 troops; this title being challenged by Maximian, his 

 father-in-law, and Maxentius, his brother-in-law, he 

 took up arms against first the one and then the other, 

 and defeated them. When one day he saw a cross in 

 the sky with the words, "By this Conquer," in Greek, 

 under this sign, known as the labarum, which he adopted 

 as his standard, he accordingly marched straight to 

 Rome, where he was acknowledged emperor by the 

 senate in 312, and thereafter an edict was issued named 

 of Milan, granting toleration to the Christians. He had 

 still to extend his empire over the East, and having done 

 so by the removal of Lucinius, he transferred the seat 

 of his empire to Byzantium, which hence got the name 

 of Constantinople, i. e., Constantine's city. Constantine 

 had himself baptized in 337 as a Christian, after having 

 three years before proclaimed Christianity the state 

 religion. Died. 337. 



Cook, Captain James, born in Marton, in the North 

 Hiding of \orkshire, October 28, 1728; a celebrated 

 English navigator, best known through his "Voyages 

 Round the World," which was exceedingly popular in 

 the last, and the earlier part of the present, century. 

 He made three principal voyages, in the course of which 

 he made many important discoveries, but was ultimately 

 killed in a quarrel with the natives of Hawaii, though 

 he had never acted so as to deserve anything but con- 

 fidence from the natives with whom he came in contact. 

 His kindly disposition, and his scrupulous justice and 

 humanity, were, with his skill as a navigator, among his 

 first recommendations. After his death, at Hawaii, one 

 of the Sandwich Islands, February 14, 1779, many honors 

 were paid to his memory, both in his own and in foreign 

 countries. 



Coop'er, James Fenimore, an illustrious American 

 novelist, was born in Burlington, N. Y., 1789. After six 

 years' experience of naval life, Cooper retired from the 

 sea in 1810, and took up his residence at Cooperstown, 

 Otsego County. In 1821, appeared his first work, "Pre- 

 caution." In quick succession f9llowed "The Spy," a 

 tale which at once secured for him a place in the first 

 rank of novelists; his almost unequaled sea stories, 

 "The Red Rover," "Pilot," and "Water-witch"; his 

 famous "Leather Stocking Series" of Indian life and 

 adventure, the "Pioneers," "Last of the Mohicans," 

 "Pathfinder," " Deerslayer," "Prairie," etc. Cooper, 

 after passing some years in Europe, died in 1851. His 

 works have been translated into every European lan- 

 guage, and have exhausted numberless editions. 



Copernicus, Nicolas, born in 1473 at Thorn, Prussia; 

 founder of the modern system of astronomy, studied at 

 Cracow and Bologna, and became professor of mathe- 

 matics at Rome. Obtaining a canon ry in the chapter 

 of Frauenberg, he there wrote his work in Latin "On the 

 Revolution of the Celestial Orbs," which he deferred 

 publishing until a little before his death, in 1543, aware 

 of the opposition it would arouse. 



Corday D'Armans, Marie Charlotte, born in 1768, 

 at St. Saturnin, Normandy, of a noble Norman family; 

 sympathized with the ideas of the French Revolution 

 but was horrified at its excesses; visited Paris in July, 

 1793, with the purpose, it is said, of assassinating Marat, 

 or Robespierre; obtaining an interview with the former 

 while in his bath, she stabbed him with a knife; was 



immediately apprehended and executed four days after- 

 wards. 



Corelli. Marie, Miss, St rat ford-on- Avon; the 

 adopted child of the poet, Charles Mackay; educated 

 in a French convent, and studied for a musical career. 

 At an early age betrayed literary gifts, and the success 

 of "A Romance of Two Worlds" decided her course. 

 Since then she has written a number of novels which 

 have had large circulations. Persuaded Mr. Kdward 

 Morris, of Chicago, to purchase Harvard House, Strat- 

 fonl-on-Avou (which she had restored), and to present 

 it to Harvard University, to which it now belongs . 



Corneille (feor-nayi')t Pierre, '>orn in IGOO, in Kouen; 

 French dramatist; was educated for the law, but the 

 success of his first comedy, "Mclite." induced him to 

 levote himself to literature. It was followed by other 

 comedies, but from 1636 he preferred trauedy, producing 

 .Mc.lce," " Le Cid" (which established his fame), 

 "Horace," "Cinna," "Polyeucte," "La Mort de Pom- 

 pde." etc. "Le Menteur" was another successful com- 

 edy. Died, 1684. 



Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio Africanus, was the 

 wife of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, who was consul, 

 177 B. C. By him Cornelia had twelve children, and 

 was left, still in the prime of life, a widow. To her chil- 

 dren she gave all her care, though only three reached 

 maturity, but these owed to their mother the high dis- 

 tinction which they gained in the commonwealth. A 

 lady, after displaying her jewels, asked to see those of 

 Cornelia, who, producing her sons, said "These are 

 mine." Her hand was sought by the King of Egypt, 

 but she withheld her consent. She -is said to have 

 encouraged her sons to be too ambitious, which event- 

 ually cost them their lives. 



Cornell, Ezra, 1807, an American philanthropist; 

 born in Westchester Landing, N. Y. He accumulated 

 a large fortune and is best known as the founder of 

 Cornell University. He began life as a mechanic and 

 miller at Ithaca, N. Y., and subsequently became a 

 contractor for the erection of telegraph lines. He died 

 in Itrhaca, in 1874. 



Cornwallis, Charles, Marquis, born A. D. 1738; 

 a prominent English statesman and general, celebrated 

 as the general under whom the British forces were finally 

 defeated (A. D. 1782), in the American War of Inde- 

 pendence. He was afterwards governor-general and 

 commander-in-chief in India, where he greatly distin- 

 guished himself by his victories over Tippoo Sahib; 

 and still later (1798), he was lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 

 and (1802), plenipotentiary of Great Britain to negotiate 

 the Peace of Amiens. Appointed, in 1805, governor- 

 general of India a second time; he died (1805) at (Iha/e- 

 pur, in the province of Benares, while on his way to as- 

 sume the command of the troops. 



Co rot (kd-rd'), Jean Baptiste Camille, born in Paris, 

 1796; French painter, pupil of Michallon and Bertin, 

 and founder of the impressionist school; began to ex- 

 hibit in 1827, but did not produce his masterpieces, 

 " Dante and Virgil," and "Macbeth meeting the Witches," 

 till 1859. Died, 1875. 



Correggio (kor-ra' -je-d) , Antonio Allegrl da, an 

 artist of great fame; was born at Correggio in 1494, in 

 the duchy of Modena. He is regarded as the founder 

 of what is called the Lombard School, 'and was dis- 

 tinguished above all his rivals by the grace and beauty 

 of his figures, and by the richness and harmony of his 

 coloring. He painted "The Assumption of the Virgin," 

 for the cathedral church of Parma; and among his 

 numerous productions are, the "Nativity," the "Mar- 

 riage of St. Catherine," the "Holy Family," etc. Died, 

 1534. 



Cortelyou, George Bruce, secretary of the treasury; 

 was born in the city of New York, July 26, 1862; was 

 educated at public and private schools; graduated at 

 Hempstead (L. I.) Institute and State Normal School, 

 Westfield, Mass.; is a graduate of the law schools of the 

 Georgetown and Columbian (George Washington) uni- 

 versities; in 1883 was a general law and verbatim re- 

 porter in New York; was principal of preparatory 

 schools in New York from 1885 to 1889; in the latter 

 year entered the public service, and has been private 

 secretary to various public officials, among them the 

 post-office inspector in charge at New York, the surveyor 

 of the port of New York, and the fourth-assistant post- 

 master-general; November, 1895, was appointed stenog- 

 rapher to President Cleveland; February, 1896, execu- 

 tive clerk; July 1, 1898, assistant secretary to President 

 McKinley; April 13, 1900, secretary to the president; 

 reappointed March 15, 1901, and on September 16, 1901, 

 reappointed by President Roosevelt; was appointed 

 secretary of the newly established Department of Com- 

 merce and Labor, February 16, 1903, and was confirmed 

 the same day; on June 23, 1904, was elected chairman 



